Wisconsin (3/28/23)

meanrob · March 22, 2023

20 minutes ago, CMJ said:

I can and do. I've said in previous years on this board when it's come up that I think winning the NIT is roughly the same equivalence as winning a round in the Dance and being worthy of a top 30-40 ranking. You might get more press for winning a round in the Dance, but it's not more impressive than an NIT title where you have to win five games in basically an 8/9 matchup every time.

So if they're about the same...I'd rather take home a trophy.

Guess I should say I gotta see how I feel if we do win it. Purdue was pretty special.

CMJ · March 22, 2023

8 minutes ago, meanrob said:

Guess I should say I gotta see how I feel if we do win it. Purdue was pretty special.

No doubt there. It was the biggest thrill of my NT fandom life!

greenminer · March 22, 2023

If Data Skrive is still doing recaps of the NIT, even in Vegas, that could tell me everything I need to know about how important this tournament is to ESPN.

BigWillie · March 22, 2023

1 hour ago, CMJ said:

You always want to make the NCAA Tournament, because you never know what can happen. Maybe you can become FAU and make the Sweet 16, or a George Mason and get to the Final Four.

That said, if I'd rather make the NIT Semifinals than be one and done in the Big Dance. Obviously beating Purdue trumps this, but getting this far is really big.

And if we cut down the nets Thursday, I say it's bigger than Purdue in 2021.

I am actually with you here. Purdue is good, but to get through one Big 12 team and at least one B1G team (even lower ones) is pretty special. It shows that it wasn't just a one off type thing.

Not to take away anything from the team that beat Purdue, but this year showed Purdue seems to choke in the big dance.

Censored by Laurie · March 22, 2023

8 hours ago, emmitt01 said:

LOCK THE GRATE!

Censored by Laurie · March 22, 2023

this post comes with all of the in-depth knowledge of having watched about 3/4s of their game with Oregon and doing a bit of a dig through their stats...but...

they look a very balanced team. they have four players who have taken over 300 shots and their top 4 scorers averaging between 11.3 and 12.2 points-per-game.

leading scorer Steven Crowl is a 7-footer, but one with range...he's taken 88 3-pointers (for comp, Rubin has taken 90) and is shooting just above 30%. interestingly, for a 7-footer he isn't exactly a real defensive presence...Crowl has 17 blocks on the year...Abou, who too isn't just the most intimidating rim protector, has 45. hell, Rubin has 14. in fact, the entire Wisconsin team has 45 blocks...near bottom in the country.

looks like they have 2 real knock-down shooters in Chucky Hepburn (6'2" Soph) and Max Klesmit (6'3" Jr.)...both shooting near 40% from three...plus two more very capable scorers in the starting line-up, Tyler Wahl (6'9" Sr.) and Conner Essegian (6'4" Fr.). all five starters have gone for 19+ points multiple times this season and they've had three different leading scorers in their three NIT games, including a 36 point, 5-7 from three, performance from Crowl against Bradley.

a well-balanced 5, but not a ton of depth...7, max 8 deep it seems...Carter Gilmour (6'7" Jr.) looks like he's largely out there for rebounding, defense and toughness...Jordan Davis (6'4" Jr.) seems to be the only real candidate for points off the bench...he had a season high 15 in a rare start against Northwestern, but looks like minutes and presumably performances have been inconsistent.

I think this game sets up favorably for us. they don't play a particularly fast pace (57 shots/game), so I feel like the game will be played at a tempo we're comfortable with. they're best in the country at protecting the ball with just 8.5 turnovers per game, so as long as we're smart and deliberate with the ball as well I think 98% of these possessions will be 25 second half-court sets...each team gets 2 fast-break points.

their size worries me less from a post-scoring perspective (especially if Abou is back) but more from having a legit stretch-five...it could be tough for Abou/Sissoko to defend Crowl 20-feet out. might mean a lot more of the Martinez/Scott duo up front.

thinking this could look a lot like the Virginia game from last year. just with a better result.

Matt from A700 · March 22, 2023

Damn, we already have two pages on a game thread a week before the game?

UNT IS A BASKETBALL SCHOOL!!!

NorthTexasWeLove · March 22, 2023

8 hours ago, meanrob said:

Sorry, can’t go that far.

Not only can I go for that, I completely agree. To cut down the nets we'd have to beat 3 quad 1 teams on national television during primetime ESPN. That 100% trumps a Wednesday win at noon on TruTV, and it trumps it easily.

CMJ · March 22, 2023

7 minutes ago, Matt from A700 said:

Damn, we already have two pages on a game thread a week before the game?

UNT IS A BASKETBALL SCHOOL!!!

I remember back before JJ's first tournament run, basketball threads might get 15 posts total if they were lucky. Amazing to see.

NorthTexasWeLove · March 22, 2023

3 minutes ago, Matt from A700 said:

Damn, we already have two pages on a game thread a week before the game?

UNT IS A BASKETBALL SCHOOL!!!

How You Doin Hello GIF by SVT

greengal · March 22, 2023

7 minutes ago, Matt from A700 said:

Damn, we already have two pages on a game thread a week before the game?

UNT IS A BASKETBALL SCHOOL!!!

Yes we sure are. So very proud of these boys and what they have accomplished.

Matt from A700 · March 22, 2023

Honestly like this matchup better than Oregon. The Big 10 is just a bunch of tall, awkward white dudes who'll be drafted by the Charlotte Hornets. We got this.

BillySee58 · March 22, 2023

8 hours ago, greenminer said:

If Data Skrive is still doing recaps of the NIT, even in Vegas, that could tell me everything I need to know about how important this tournament is to ESPN.

I think it has less to do with ESPN and more to do with the AP. That’s whose summaries ESPN is going to use most of the time.

Cooke County Kid · March 22, 2023

Look who played in last years NIT championship game, if we can replicate their success, we will be ranked and in the NCAA's next year GMG!!!

southsideguy · March 22, 2023

have to beat Wisconsin first and they will be tough.

Andrew · March 22, 2023

2 hours ago, NorthTexasWeLove said:

Not only can I go for that, I completely agree. To cut down the nets we'd have to beat 3 quad 1 teams on national television during primetime ESPN. That 100% trumps a Wednesday win at noon on TruTV, and it trumps it easily.

I think all this success should be attributed to @Army of Dad coming out and stating he would never get season tickets or watch another UNT basketball game again. Since his departure to hunt/fish and whatever else he is doing the programs trajectory has been through the roof. We should be thanking him. After his last post it’s been some sweet UNT basketball!

Army of Dad · March 22, 2023

7 minutes ago, Andrew said:

I think all this success should be attributed to @Army of Dad coming out and stating he would never get season tickets or watch another UNT basketball game again. Since his departure to hunt/fish and whatever else he is doing the programs trajectory has been through the roof. We should be thanking him. After his last post it’s been some sweet UNT basketball!

😂

I’m happy to help and I saw a lot of green last duck season. Green winged teal, but still green…

NorthTexasWeLove · March 22, 2023

2 hours ago, Matt from A700 said:

Honestly like this matchup better than Oregon. The Big 10 is just a bunch of tall, awkward white dudes who'll be drafted by the Charlotte Hornets. We got this.

Kendrick?

NorthTexasSportsNetwork · March 22, 2023

Flight, hotel and tickets all booked, flying in from DFW on Monday afternoon. Staying in the Orleans next to the arena.

Matt from A700 · March 22, 2023

9 minutes ago, NorthTexasWeLove said:

Kendrick?

It's the facts. IT'S THE FACTS!

CMJ · March 22, 2023

2 hours ago, Matt from A700 said:

Damn, we already have two pages on a game thread a week before the game?

UNT IS A BASKETBALL SCHOOL!!!

Just for grins, I found the old Purdue game thread. It went 11 pages. Granted we had numerous threads going pre and postgame, but still....the fact that last night's game thread has more posts than the Purdue one shows we're taking basketball seriously.

Jason Howeth · March 22, 2023

11 hours ago, UNTLifer said:

What does the NIT pay?

11 hours ago, CMJ said:

If I recall it works kind of like the NCAA conference units, just much less money involved because the NIT TV contract is a fraction of the Big Dance's.

A post worth noting RE: Pay for NIT games.

https://www.cougarboard.com/board/message.html?id=15634702

Green Otaku · March 22, 2023

The good thing is the guys will have lots of time to prepare. Hopefully Eady will make a full recovery by then, and we can see about Ousmane, though I'm pretty doubtful we see him.

UNT Five&Dime · March 22, 2023

Who’s bringing the “Cheese Curds are Overrated” sign?

Please spell overrated correctly.

Hunter Green · March 22, 2023

4 hours ago, Censored by Laurie said:

this post comes with all of the in-depth knowledge of having watched about 3/4s of their game with Oregon and doing a bit of a dig through their stats...but...

they look a very balanced team. they have four players who have taken over 300 shots and their top 4 scorers averaging between 11.3 and 12.2 points-per-game.

leading scorer Steven Crowl is a 7-footer, but one with range...he's taken 88 3-pointers (for comp, Rubin has taken 90) and is shooting just above 30%. interestingly, for a 7-footer he isn't exactly a real defensive presence...Crowl has 17 blocks on the year...Abou, who too isn't just the most intimidating rim protector, has 45. hell, Rubin has 14. in fact, the entire Wisconsin team has 45 blocks...near bottom in the country.

looks like they have 2 real knock-down shooters in Chucky Hepburn (6'2" Soph) and Max Klesmit (6'3" Jr.)...both shooting near 40% from three...plus two more very capable scorers in the starting line-up, Tyler Wahl (6'9" Sr.) and Conner Essegian (6'4" Fr.). all five starters have gone for 19+ points multiple times this season and they've had three different leading scorers in their three NIT games, including a 36 point, 5-7 from three, performance from Crowl against Bradley.

a well-balanced 5, but not a ton of depth...7, max 8 deep it seems...Carter Gilmour (6'7" Jr.) looks like he's largely out there for rebounding, defense and toughness...Jordan Davis (6'4" Jr.) seems to be the only real candidate for points off the bench...he had a season high 15 in a rare start against Northwestern, but looks like minutes and presumably performances have been inconsistent.

I think this game sets up favorably for us. they don't play a particularly fast pace (57 shots/game), so I feel like the game will be played at a tempo we're comfortable with. they're best in the country at protecting the ball with just 8.5 turnovers per game, so as long as we're smart and deliberate with the ball as well I think 98% of these possessions will be 25 second half-court sets...each team gets 2 fast-break points.

their size worries me less from a post-scoring perspective (especially if Abou is back) but more from having a legit stretch-five...it could be tough for Abou/Sissoko to defend Crowl 20-feet out. might mean a lot more of the Martinez/Scott duo up front.

thinking this could look a lot like the Virginia game from last year. just with a better result.

Nice assessment, but have they played a defense as good as ours? OSU had trouble with us, especially in the first half. I know they're Big10 and all, but...